Combined sponge and brush toilet bowl cleaner



' March 20, 1956 A. H. BERNET COMBINED SPONGE AND BRUSH TOJ ILET BOWL CLEANER Filed May 25, 1950 INVENTOR. ARM/N H. 5 ET ATTUR/VE).

United States Patent GOMBINED SPONGE AND BRUSH. TOILET BOWL CLEANER Armin'H. Be'rne't, Cincinnati, Ohio Application May' 23} 1950; Serial: N 0'. 163 5775 3 Claims. (Cl. I51I5) The invention relates to means particularly adapted to clean toilet bowls, inside and outside.

An important object of the invention is to provide simple, efficient, economical and practical means capable of being conveniently and manually operated to clean toilet bowls, including the under side of the rim or head of the bowl.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a brush capable of being quickly and conveniently manually operated for cleaning toilet bowls and other objects without necessity of frequently immersingor dippingthe brush into water or other cleansing liquid; toprov-ide practical and economical meansfor enabling. persons who desire to clean toilet bowls particularly and other surfaces to do so conveniently and'relativelyswiftlyg,to provide means to efiiciently and with dependability retain said water or other cleansing. liquid adjacent bristles in' the. brush head; and to provide a brush having. rubbing or scouring. surfaces with diflerent' characteristics.

Otherobjects of the invention will be apparent by reference to the d'rawingsand hereinafter description.

The invention consists of' the combination of the elements, arrangement of parts and in the details. of the construction, as hereinafter claimed;

In the drawings:

F ig. 1 is a plan view of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the invention;

Fig. 3 is asection. takenv on the line 3 -3"in Fig. 1;.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section: taken through a toilet bowl showing the invention in position for cleaning the lower side of the lip-of the bowl; and

Fig. 5 is the'same showingthe trap-of the bowl being cleaned.

In the preferred construction (tithe-invention I provide the brush 1 comprising the manually'o'perated" handle 2 having integrally connected with its inner end the'enlarged head- 4-which has its-bottom orlower side 5 substantially in longitudinal alignment with the lower side 6 of the-handle 2-. The handle 2 and the head-4-may be formed from-wood, or other suitablematerial.

The top or upper side 7 of the head 4 extends and is disposed at an inclined angle-tothe' lower side 5* of the head. The top outer end portion of said head 4 is inclined upwardly and outwardly from the handle 2 In the top 7 of the head 4 are two r'ows'8' and 9 of aligned drilledholes 1-0.

As above mentioned the bottom or lower side 6 o'fithe head 4 is aligned longitudinally with the lower side 6 of the handle 2, and in the bottom 6 are two rows 11 and 12 of spaced aligned spaced apart holes separated by the space 13 from the two rows 14 and 15 of aligned and spaced apart holes 10.

In each of the holes 10 are fixed a plurality of bristles 16 whereby rows or sets 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 of clumps 16 of bristles are provided. The bristles consist of stiff, coarse hairs or the appendages of certain plants.

The rows 8 and 9 of the holes 10 are drilled with their walls extending upwardly and outwardly with respect tothe inclined top 7 whereby the rows 17 and 18 of the bristles extend at right angles to the inclined top.

The holes 10 in the row 11 are drilled at an angle to the bottom 5 of the head 4' and the walls" of the. holes in row l'l extended downwardly and inwardly of the bottom 5 whereby the outer endsof the row 19' bristles 16 extend downwardly and outwardly of the bottom 5 and beyond a vertical plane taken through the outer edge 4' of the head4.

The holes 10 in the rows 12, 14 and 15 are drilled with their side walls at right angles to the bottom of'the brush head 4. in each hole of the rows 12, 14 and 15 the bristles 16 extend downwardly and at right angles to the bottom of the head.

The outer ends-23 of the bristles 16 in all rows 17, 18, 19, 20, 21' and 22 are trimmed or cutto form rela tively flat outer endsto each clump of bristles.

Positioned around the head 4 is the doughnut shape collar or liquid absorbent element 24 formed from porous resilient material, as sponge rubber, which can be strained to near the extreme limit within which it can be strained again and again without the material breaking or taking a permanent set. The collar 24 has the hole 25 therein in which the head 4 is received. The mate'- rial from which the collar 24 is formed has formed therein a plurality of cavities 26 provided with one or more inhalentr and exhalent artifices through which Water or other liquid flows or pours in and out each cavity,, whereby, when compressed from its natural or original stateor formation, while in water or other liquid; and afterward pressure from the material is released the resiliency of the material causes it' to assume its natural state or form and while doing. so the material absorbs. said water or other liquid which is forced into. the cavities, or when the material is immersed in water or other liquid, the latter is naturally absorbed by the materiall. Whenv pressure is exerted externally of the collar 24 the material from which it is formed is compressed thus forcing the water or other liquidfromthe cavities 26.

The collar Z4is positioned in the space 13' between and in contactwith the rows or sets 20 and 21 of. the bristles and in contact with the row 18 oh the bristles. The sets 20 and 21 of the bristles retain the collar 24 in predetermined position on the head 4. The front outer edge 27- of the collar 24 protrudes slightly beyond the outer ends-of "the bristles.

When the brush is in use, the operator (not shown) grasps. the handle 2 ofthe brush 1 and immerses the head 4 in cleanwater or a specially prepared cleansing liquid, and causes the collar 24 to be saturatd'with the liquid; and at the same time the 'bristles16 are soakedwiththe liquid; Then either or both rows 20' and 21 of the bristles 1 6- are manually moved in frictional contact with the inner portion of the lower side of the header lip 28 of the toilet bowl 29, as shown in Fig. 4', and the collar 24' simultaneously contacts and cleans the outer portion of the lip. Without necessity of the operator again immersing the head 4' in the cleansingliquid, the. head ma be used to clean other surfaces of the toilet'bowl and the trap 30', as shown in Fig; 5, since cleansing" liquid remaining; in the cavitleslh of'the collar 24 gradually'ooz'es out during movement of the head 4 and frictional contact of the bristles and collar with the surface being cleaned. The side edges 31 and 32 of the head 4 has the collar in contact therewith and the collar may be used to scour or clean relatively tender surfaces which the bristles may scratch.

An advantage of the invention resides in the adaptability of the collar 24 to absorb and retain for a period of time a liquid, as Water or suitable cleansing agent, whereby when pressure is exerted manually on the handle 2 to" cause the outer surface or edge of the collar 24 to contact a toilet bowl, or other surface being cleaned, the thickness of the collar will be reduced or squeezed thereby reducing the size and cubical area of the spaces or cavities 26 in the collar whereby the water or other liquid cleaning agent saturated in the collar is forced from the collar onto the toilet bowl, or other surface being cleaned, and also the liquid or other cleaning agent is forced from the cavities onto the adjacent bristles, and then the head 4 is manually moved parallel with the toilet bowl or other surface being cleaned and with the collar 2.4 and the outer ends of the bristles in frictional contact therewith, and the toilet bowl or other surface being cleaned is conveniently and efficiently cleaned without necessity of frequently removing the collar 24, and the bristles 16 from contact with the toilet bowl, or other surface being cleaned, and subsequently dipping the head, collar and bristles into Water or other liquid cleaning agent in order to supply fresh liquid into and onto the bristles. Thus, considerable time, effort and inconvenience of the operator of the brush 1 is saved.

Another advantage of the invention is that the top 7 of the head 4 is inclined upwardly and outwardly whereby when the brush is utilized to clean the under surface of the lip 28 of the toilet bowl 29 the handle 2 may be held by the operator substantially in inclined position and the bristles 16 in row 8 very readily enter crevices, grooves or other indentations of the lower parts of the lip when the head 4 is manually moved in various and suitable directions with the bristles in frictional contact with the lip.

Another advantage of the invention is that the head 4 may be manually inserted into the hole or trap 30 of the toilet bowl and moved by the operator in various directions and also rotated while the bristles and the collar are in frictional contact with the adjacent surfaces of the bowl.

Still another advantage of the invention is that when it is desired by the operator to clean relatively tender surfaces that may be scratched by frictional contact of the bristles, the brush may be held by the operator with the side edge of the collar in contact with the tender surface, and the relatively soft surface of the collar may be applied frictionally to the surface thereby eliminating possibility of the bristles scratching or marring such tender surface.

Still another advantage of the invention is that the resilient collar 24 is held in stationary position on the head 4 as by being positioned between the rows 12, 14, and 18 of the bristles whereby not only may the brush head be moved by the operator in contact with a surface being cleaned in a direction of a plane taken transversely of the brush and through its side edges, but also the brush held may be manually moved in frictional contact with the surface being cleaned in a direction of plane taken longitudinally of the brush, and without any likelihood of the collars position on the head being disturbed or varied.

I believe that the form of the invention illustrated in the drawings, and referred to in the above description, as the preferred embodiment, is efficient and practicable. However, realizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoption of the invention will vary, I desire to emphasize the fact that changes in the details may be resorted to, as for instances in materials used to form the collar and the bristles and the relative location of the various parts without sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention, as defined in the claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the class described and comprising a manually operative handle having an enlarged head integrally formed with one end thereof, said head when the handle extends horizontally having the outer portion of the top thereof inclined downwardly and inwardly, the bottom of said head being aligned longitudinally with the bottom of said handle, a plurality of bristles being fixed in the bottom of said head some of which extend beyond the front outer edge of said head, a plurality of bristles being fixed in the top of said head and extending substantially at right angles with said inclined portion, a collar formed from sponge rubber encircling said head, the outer periphery of said collar being beyond the outer ends of said bristles extending from said top and bottom of said head, and means to retain said collar in stationary position on said head, said means comprising a plurality of said bottom bristles.

2. In a device of the class described and comprising a manually operative handle having an enlarged head integrally formed with one end thereof, said head when the handle extends horizontally having a portion of its top inclined downwardly and inwardly, the bottom of said head being aligned longitudinally with the bottom of said handle, a plurality of bristles being fixed in the bottom of said head and extending beyond the front outer edge of said head, a plurality of bristles being fixed in the top of said head and extending substantially at right angles with said portion of the top, a collar formed from sponge rubber encircling said head, the outer periphery of said collar being beyond the outer ends of said bristles extending from said top and bottom of said head, and

means to retain said collar in stationary position on said head.

3. A cleaning device comprising a handle, a head in tegral with said handle, said head having a portion of one side thereof inclined at an angle to said handle, a plurality of bristles being fixed to the inclined portion of said head, said bristles extending inwardly toward the said handle, additional bristles being fixed in spaced apart relationship on said head, and resilient cleaning means on said head intermediate certain of said last mentioned bristles and retained in predetermined position on said head by said last mentioned bristles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 73,746 Newton Jan. 28, 1868 219,324 Sunderlin Sept. 2, 1879 222,031 Gerike Nov. 25, 1879 464,843 Bagger Dec. 8, 1891 603,581 Urmston May 3, 1898 953,729 Yoshikawa Apr. 5, 1910 1,639,880 Butler Aug. 23, 1927 1,715,387 Ralston June 4, 1929 2,518,765 Ecker Aug. 15, 1950 2,603,806 Kisky July 22, 1952 2,642,604 Ferrari June 23, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 136,608 Austria Feb. 26, 1934 934,668 France Jan. 19, 1948 

